‍‍August 6, 2015 - 21 Av 5775Jewish LifeComments Off on Could We Live?–A Poem to Help You Breathe More Life into Your Shabbat

Here is another Nishmat poem, suitable for Shabbat morning. It can go after the Nishmat prayer. Now, take a deep breath and remember the connection between breath, life, and soul (soul = neshama--same root as nishmat, you probably know).

On Tishah b'Av we lament the destruction of the two Temples, the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, other Jewish national tragedies, and, if we wish, our own sorrows and tragedies. On this day we recite elegies and dirges called kinot, as we and our ancestors have done for thousands of years, in our own ritual way of expressing the deep grief common to all people in all cultures.